Day 14 - Hiking, Eating and Partying Under A Bridge in Stockholm

The Djurgdaren park is one of the largest in Stockholm, which is saying something considering 30% of the city is made up of parks, forests and green areas. We spent most of Saturday walking around and through the park exploring the various sites, pathways, chateaus, museums, and more. It was a bit more exercise then we were bargaining for but we definitely needed it considering the amount of eating and drinking we've been doing.

In the lobby of the Hotel Clarion Sign where we're staying is American Table from famous Swedish Chef Marcus Samuelsson. He also has a few restaurants in NY and elsewhere in the U.S.

Scallop ceviche at American Table to start the day

We walked along the main river walk in downtown Stockholm on our way to Djurgarden. The park occupies a massive island in the center of Stockholm.

Checking out the Norrstrom riverway that separates the main area of Stockholm from Djurgarden, Old Town and Sodermalm

The Nordic Museum on the Djurgarden island houses the largest collection of cultural history items in Sweden

The ABBA Museum is also located on Djurgarden island, so we popped in to have a quick glance around

In case you ever wanted to know what Greg would look like in white overalls and what Matt would look like in a shinny white onsie

Dancing Queens

The views from all angles of Djurgarden were spectacular

Waldemarsudde is the former chateau of Prince Eugen and is now a museum housing his vast art collection

The chateau also had beautiful grounds filled with sculptures, rose gardens and fountains

A view from the chateau's back terrace looking out onto the south east part of the harbor

We walked along the far backside of the island where we continued to stumble upon old barns, windmills in this case, and beautiful residences that had been there for years

 

It was a very peaceful and relaxing stroll and the views continued to get better and better

We read that deer and other animals live in the park so we tried to trek into the woods to have some encounters, but no dice

We did come upon a massive flock of mallards, so that kind of counts

We eventually found our way back to civilization and headed to grab a bite to eat

We stopped at Speceriet, the sister and neighbor restaurant to Michelin-starred Gastrologik, one of the city's top restaurants and has received rave reviews from all over the world including the New York Times

Speceriet is the more casual spot that allows walk-ins and has communal tables, but the menu is pretty similar to Gastrologik. We read about their rotisserie chicken and it didn't disappoint.

One of the chefs Jacob Holmstrom was hanging outside chatting with patrons and he was kind of enough to give us a brief tour of Gastrologik next door. Pretty awesome coincidence he was outside chatting and even more amazing that he offered to give us a personalized tour of the Michelin-starred place.

 

 

 

After the long trek around Djurgarden and the stop off at Speceriet - Greg and I split the chicken so it was just an appetizer - we made it back to the hotel to change and get ready for dinner and a night out.

We did dinner al fresco at a popular place called Supper

Supper was located in the plaza across from our hotel and we had walked by several times and seen large crowds so we had to experience it for ourselves

It was a great setup with inside and outside dinning, but the inside was under a tent so you still felt outdoors. For 8-9 months of the year Supper is in a brick & mortar building down the block but for the summer it moves to the larger outdoor plaza so people can eat and drink under the sun.

Chorizo mini-dogs with chimichurri

Tacos de Pescado - fried red shrimp with pickled red cabbage and spicy mint sauce

Slow cooked chuck beef flavored with chocolate and chili sauce

Seared tuna with chili, coriander, and rotary cut greens and sweet potato mash

Beef shoulder with corn puree and chimichurri

Dinner was delicious but it was only the precursor to the evening at Tregarden, a multi-floor club and entertainment venue under a bridge in the Sodermalm part of Stockholm

It had several bars, a main area, ping pong tables, stadium seats to relax, basketball hoop, a TV to watch the late World Cup matches, and several separate rooms playing different music

The crowd was casual and easy going - shorts, tennis shoes, tank tops - so it was far from the high-end nightlife vibe that you might assume with typical night clubs

Our friend Karin (center) guided us around Stockholm and told us about Tregarden so we owe her a big thank you

The place was packed from the moment it opened at 10am until 3am when it closed. The line out front to get in was about a 2hr wait.

Between hiking the Djurgarden, feasting on three delicious top-tier meals at American Table, Speceriet, and Supper and then an evening at one of Stockholm's top night spots, Friday was an epic epic day. It encapsulated why we travel - culture, food, people, and fun. Tough to top it, but Saturday is our last full day of the trip so we have to make the last day the best day.